Beth Ditto: Fashion is more accepting now

Beth Ditto thinks the fashion industry is far more accepting of plus-size models.

The Gossip star - who has just released her own clothing line for women size 14 to 30 - feels she is much more accepted now for her size because of the likes of the Internet and social media.

She said: "The Gossip was a band for 16 years. I was 18 years old when it started, so we're talking about the year 2000, 1999, and the difference ...

"I wouldn't say I was the first, by any means, but I definitely felt the effects of being part of the push for it. Now you see all these young girls and boys designing things on their own, super-DIY. The Internet changed things, Facebook changed things - Instagram is incredible, because it doesn't become about the fashion industry anymore, it becomes about made for us, by us. And I think the industry can't ignore that."

Meanwhile, the 34-year-old singer also recalled some of her first photo shoots, where she was always dressed in coats and accessorised with belts.

She added to Vogue magazine: "It's come from a place where I used to go to do photo shoots for really great magazines, and the only thing that people could pull, if they didn't find designers who would specifically make it for me, was f***ing coats. I swear to God, if I see another coat with a belt around it, I'm going to throw up.

"I just don't understand! No one's putting on her parka and is like, 'You know what this needs? A belt with a big buckle.' I always feel lucky that I do have this body, because it made me extremely, extremely resourceful, and extremely creative."